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MACHINE FOR OPENING AND PREPARING COTTON. No. 374,899.

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R. KITSON. MAGHINBFOR OPENING AND PREPARING COTTON. No. 374,899. Patented Dec. 13, 1887.

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R. KITSON. MACHINE FOR OPENING AND PREPARING COTTON. No. 374,899. Patented Dec. 13, 1887.

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V R. KITS ON. H MACHINE FOR OPENING A'ND PREPARING COTTON. No. 374,899. Patented Deo.,1 3, 1887.

Q-Awwm UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

RICHARD KITSON, OF LOWELL, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO THE KITSON MACHINE COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

MACHINE FOR OPENING AND PREPARING COTTON.

EPECIPICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 374,899, dated December 13, 1887,

Application filed April 25, 188-1. Serial No. 129,259. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RICHARD KITsoN, of Lowell, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for Opening and Preparing Cotton, of which the following is a specification.

My improvement relates to machines for opening and preparing cotton and otherfibrous substances; and it consists in a new arrangement andcombination of parts of such machines whereby economy of construction, and

arrangement is secured and greater ease of opcrating the same, substantially as hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawings, Figure l is a longitudinal vertical section through a lapper-machine, showing my improvement connected therewith. Fig. 2 is a transverse section through line as m of Fig. 1. Fig. 3is a view of the clustboXes and fan and its casing detached. Fig. 4 represents a cross-section of the dustpipe with one member having the door open and another with the door closed. Fig. 5 is a sectional View of a portion of the machine provided with a modification of my improvement. Fig. 6 is a transverse vertical section of the same on a line through the axes of the first pair of screen-cylinders. Fig. 7 is a top View of the dust-pipe and fan detached.

A is the casing of the machine. a is the feed-apron. a a are the feed-rolls. B B are the boaters. C C are the condensing-screens. c c are the doffer and lap rolls. 1) b b are the laps in position upon the feed-apron to be doubled and fed into the machine. All of these parts of the machine are of ordinary construction and well known.

d d are the air and dust passages, leading from the condensing-screen cylinders C C downward in the usual manner. Heretofore the said passages have led directly into a fan or blower placed with its axis parallel to those of thescreen-cylinders within the casing of the machine directly underneath the screen-cylinders and near the floor, one such fan or blower being used for each pair of screen-cylinders, and any dust or dirt collecting in the air pas' sages near the fan was difficult to get cleaned out from its inaccessiblelocation,and,the num ber of fans being equal to the number of beaters used in the 1nachine,a large number of working parts were required to support them pr0perly and connect them with the driving-gear ing. The wear of so many running parts has also been a considerable expense. To overcomethis difficulty, I have combined two pairs of screen cylinders with a single fan so located that the dust-passages where the dust accumulates can be easily cleaned out, and the fan itself is easily accessible and can be made large enough to perform the work required.

F is'the floor of the room, upon which the machine stands.

Directly underneath each vertical passage (1 leading downward from the screen-cylinders I make a hole through the floor and continue the passage downward into a horizontal dust box or passage, D, attached to the under side of the floor in the compartment below that in which the machine is placed. There are two of these dust and air passages D, running parallel to each other and directly under the vertical passages cl at each end of the screen-cylinders, as shown. each of these horizontal dust and air passages D is formed of hinged doors d, which can be dropped down to allow the dust which may collectin them to escape, and then closed again.

Each of the passages D has at its end underneath the t'eedapron of the machine a part, (1 which curves upward and inward, passing through holes in the floor and into each side of a fan or blower, E, placed upon the floor underneath the feed-apron, which blower has a dischargepipe, E, leading do wuward again through the floor. By this construction of the parts I am enabled to dispense with a separate fan for each pair of revolving screens, as heretofore used, and my fan or blower is placed in a position where it is easily accessible, and can be repaired or cleaned without difficulty. The blower E is provided with pulleys e e on each end of its shaft, by which it may be driven from any suitable counter-shaft. Itis of ordinary con struction, receiving its air from the passages D D at the center and discharging it at the circumference, and need notbe further described.

The lower side of Instead of a pair of screen-cylinders C 0 following or in the rear of each beater in the machine, a single screen-cylinder may be used, following or in the rear of each beater in the ordinary and well-known manner, without departing from the spirit of my invention.

In order to control the amount of air-draft from each pair of screen cylinders G O, I place a damper, 01", in each of the vertical passages d below the screens, which damper is hung upon a shaft, 6?, extending transversely of the machine and having its shaft projected out on one side and provided with acrank, d. By turning this crank the passages d d may be closed to any desired extent, thus regulating the amount of suction or exhaust from the screen-cylinders above it.

Instead ofhaving two air-passages d from each set of condensingscreen cylinders, only one may be used by closing one of the dampers d entirely to each set of screens.

In Figs. 5, 6, and 7 is shown a modification of my invention, by which one of the dust-pipes D is dispensed with and the vertical passages d d lead by means of a Y-shaped passage beneath thelower screen into a Single vertical passage and the dustpassages D d ,as before described. The damper d is shown as placed below where the passages cl d unite, with its shaft longitudinally of the machine. The part of the dust-passage d rises to the fan, as before; but to accommodate the single passage the fan is made of the ordinary doublefloat pattern, and each set of floats on each side of the upper end of the dust-passage (1 takes its dust from the passage at the center and delivers it through a passage, 6, leading down through the floor.

e 0" represent the outer casings of the two sets of floats, which are mounted on and driven by one shaft and the pulleys e e, as before.

\Vhat I claim as new and of my invention 1s 1. In a machine for opening fibers, the combination of'two sets of condensing-screen cylinders, 0, having the beater B between them, dust-pipes d d,leading from the interior of said cylinders into a single dust-pipe, and a single fan or blower, E, connected to the latter and adapted to produce a current of air through it and said pipes from the interior of said screen-cylinders, substantially as described.

2. In a machine for opening fibers, the combination of two sets of condensingscreen cylinders, 0, having the beater B between them, dust pipes d d, provided with dampers d and leading from the interior of said cylinders into acommon dust-pipe, and a single fan or blower, E, connected to the latter and adapted to produce a current of air through it and said pipes d d from the interior of said screen-cylinders, substantially as described.

3. In a machine for opening fibers, the combination of one or more sets of condensingscreen cylinders, O, dust-pipes d d, leading from the interior of said cylinders at both ends thereof into a single dust-pipe, the latter extending horizontally beneath the frame of the machine, dampers 61 d located in said pipes d d, and a single fan or blower, E, connected to said single dust-pipe and adapted to produce a current of air through it and said pipes 01 d from the interior of said screencylinders, substantially as described.

4. In a machine for opening fibers, the combination of two sets of condensing-screeneylinders, 0, having the beater B between them, dust-pipes d d, leading from the interior of said cylinders into a single dust-pipe extending horizontally beneath the frame of the machine and upward past the end of said frame, and a single fan or blower, E, located opposite said end of the machine-frame, with its axis parallel, or nearly so, with that of said screencylinders and beater, and connected to said single dust-pipe, and adapted to produce a current of air through it and pipes d d from the interior of said screen-cylinders, substantially as described.

RICHARD KITSON.

Witnesses:

DAVID HALL Bron, S. KITsoN. 

